Slot bunker



June 4, 1957 H. BRAHMSIEPE 2,794,561

SLOT BUNKER Filed Feb. 25, 1954 2 Shee'tS-Shee; 1

June 4, 1957 H. BRAHMSIEPE v2,794,561

SLOT BUNKER Filed Feb. 25, 1954 2 SheebS-Sheei 2 United States Patent' SLOT BUNKER Heinz Brahmsiepe, Essen-Steele, Germany, assignor, by

mesne assignments, to Kappers Company, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application February 25, 1954, Serial No. 412,526

4 Claims. (Cl. 214-17) A type of slot bunker is known, with a central saddle and material stored on both sides of it, in which thev material is removed through a slot arranged below the centre and on both sides of the saddle by means of scissorsshaped emptying arms coupled with one another, which act simultaneously on both surfaces of the slot.

A slot bunker formed in this way has the advantage that, by the arrangement of two bunkers, that is of a bunker arranged on each side of the saddle, the material can be removed in an adjustable mixing ratio on to a conveyor arranged underneath the slot of the bunker.

With the known types of slot bunker there are arranged on the emptying trucks which move underneath the slot bunker two pairs of emptying arms, of which the one pushes the material away from the supporting surfaces on the forward movement and the other on the backward movement. At each end of the bunker these emptying arms are linked by means of sloping surfaces arranged on the bunker in such a way that the one pair of emptying arms cornes into the position of rest and the other into the working position.

The present invention relates to a further development of the slot bunker constructed according to the main patent, consisting substantially in a simplication of the arrangement of the emptying arms.

According to the invention the emptying arms are carried on the emptying truck so that they swing ona hinge and are provided in both directions of movement with emptying arms which engage on both supporting surfaces.

By such a construction of the emptying arms according to the invention only one pair of pivoted emptying w arms is necessary, these emptying arms being constructed substantially the same in both directions. Thereby the result is attained that the change-over of the emptying arms at each end of the slot bunker results automatically, on the reversal of the direction of travel the emptying truck, the emptying arm previously supported in the working position automatically coming into the position of rest out of the region of the material owing to the resistance of the material, and at the same time the arm arranged to lie out of the path of material in the other direction of travel automatically engaging in the material piled up on the supporting surfaces and coming into the final working position.

A further characteristic of the invention is the arrangement on the emptying truck, between the emptying arms when they are in the position of rest, of adjusting members for the adjustment of the other emptying arms when they are in the working position with respect to the amount of material to be removed. Thereby the adjustment of the emptying arms can be made separately for each emptying arm in accordance with the desired mixing ratio of the material.

Preferably the adjusting members according to the invention are formed tapering conically and so arranged that the narrower portion of their conical taper is able to swing between the emptying arms which are in the position of rest. The adjusting members each lie on a shaft "ice provided with an actuation lever on the side of the emptying truck, so that they can be easily operated.

An object of the invention is further to connect the cable, which moves the emptying truck, with the ends of the emptying truck through two rollers arranged at each end. Thereby the cable runs from these rollers over a cable drum which is connected with the drive, and over upper and lower guiding rollers arranged for each of the two rollers of the emptying truck.

Such an arrangement of the cable avoids tipping of the emptying truck, as with too much length in one side the cable can equalise itself on the two rollers arrangedon the emptying truck.

Finally it is also an object of the invention to arrange between the cable drum and the vertically arranged direction changing rollers a horizontally displaceable guiding roller. Thereby the guiding rollers can adapt themselves in accordance with the length of the cable, which shifts in a horizontal plane and leads to the direction changing rollers and is wound several times round the cable drums, without coming off the rollers.

The invention is shown in the diagrams in a preferred constructional form.

Fig. l shows the lower part of a slot bunker formed according to the invention, in vertical section on the lines I-l of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a plan of the emptying truck;

Fig. 3 shows the adjusting member which adjusts the emptying arms, in a vertical section on the lines III-III of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 shows diagrammatically the cable which moves kanother by a vertical separating wall, not shown in the diagram, arranged above the saddle 1. Underneath each bunker section 2, 3 is arranged along the slot bunker a supporting surface 4 on which in accordance with a piling angle lower end of the piling angle to the end ing surface 4 can be adjusted by means of adjustable walls 6.

Between the two supporting surfaces 4 is formed a longitudinal through slot 7, through which the material is transferred on to a conveyor belt 8 arranged below.

On a concrete base 9 there is carried on rails'lt) an emptying truck 12, which can move along the slot 7 by means of running wheels 11, and which has guiding walls 5. The distance of the 13 reaching to the neighbourhood of the conveyor belt cylinders 16 are carried rotatably. Fixed to these portions of cylinders 16 are arms 17, 18 which are provided with vertical shovel surfaces 19.

As is seen from Fig. 2, the two arms 17, 13 rare disposed in the form of. an obtuse angle so that when the. arrns17, are in the position of rest in alignment with slotl 7 the arms 18 engage on the supporting surfaces 4. In this position the transport device of the emptying truck 12 runs in the direction of the arrow 26. Thereby the arms 18 engage in the material formed at the piling angle so that by the resulting resistance the arms 1S always lie in the same working position and the arms 17 always remain in the same position of rest.

When the emptying truck 12 reaches the end of the bunker and the direction of movement is then reversed, the resistance of the piled-up material causes a swinging of the arms 18 round vthe vertical pin 15, whereby the arms 17 come into the working position and swing out fully the material is supported of the support- Y,

portions of on engaging in the piled-up material thereby rotating arms 18 into alignment with slot 7.

At the ends of the emptying truck 12 conical adjusting members'21, are'pivotallyrmounted so that they in unison can swing round a shaft 2,2. iirst enter at-the.narrowerfportion of their conically tapering ends, between the emptying arms 17, 1S-whichare in the position of restfor exampleL when in the direction of movement shown'in Fig. 2, the emptying arms 17. The sh-aft 22 is provided with'a leverY 23 which is adjustable.

by means of. stop pins 24, by means of vwhich the adjust-Y ing member 21 can be turnedtoward and as farbetween the two emptying. armsas corresponds` to the position of the other of thoseemptying arms, which are doingtheVv emptying, that mayfbe desired with respecttto the amount of material to be removed. The mixing ratio of the various kinds of material stored in the bunkers 2 and 3 therebyresults in conjunctionV with adjustment of the slider valve 6 of'one of the two bunker sections.V The' emptying arm engaging on theY opposite supportingV surface can however also be adjusted differently, forV example by having the two conically tapered side walls each being independently adjustable. Y

The two arms 17, 18'can also be formed so that' if necessary one of the arms can be cutout of action.

The emptying arms 17, 18 can travel through'a limited' region of the bunker, with automaticfchange-over, without having to go all the way tothe ends ofV the bunker, merely by reversal of the direction of travel of the driving motor. Thus by sub-dividing the bunker longitudinally into bunker sections with dilerent sorts of material, particular sections of the length can be travelledwith a single emptying truck.

As is seen from Figs. 4 and 5, the emptying truck is driven by means of a cable 26 which runs over the rollers 27 Iarranged on both sides at the ends of the emptying truck 12. The cable 26 also runs over direction-changing rollers 28 arranged at the one end, over-directionchanging rollers 29 arranged at the other end, guiding rollers 30 carried above, and cable drums 31. The cable drums 31 are connected with a drive 32 through a continuously uariable gear 33 and a gear drive 34.

.The cable is wound several times over the cable drums 31 which are arranged on both sides of a common shaft 35. Thereby the ends of the cable going away from they cable drums run o each in a different vertical plane.

The guiding rollers are carried raXially displaceable on a shaft 36, so that the rollers 30 can follow the horizontal movement of the cable without any danger of the cable jumping off the roller. By the arrangement of the guiding rollers 30 above the cable drums 31 the guiding rollers lie at such a distance from the direction changing rollers 29 that there is no danger of the cable wandering away from the rollers, which are on Xed bearings.

What I claim is: v

1. Slot bunker with a central saddle and material supporting surfaces on opposite sides of it, a slot between each supporting surface and the saddle, an emptying truck movable along the saddle below the same and having two pivoted pairs of emptying arms carried by the emptying truck in position for one arm of each pair of arms to VThe adjusting members 21 Y engage through the slots in position over the material supporting surfaces on opposite sides of the saddle to remove material therefrom to beneath the saddle while the other arm of each pair of arms lies under the saddle in one direction of movement of the emptying truck 'along the saddle, and said other arm of each pair likewise engages through the slots over said opposite side material supporting surfaces while said one arm of each pair lies under the saddle in the opposite direction of movement under the saddle, said arms of each pair being disposed in the 'form of an obtuse angle and the two pairs being pivotally mounted one above the other on a common axis whereby` the arms of the pairs are automatically reversed in position by the material on the supporting surface on change in direction of movement of the emptying truck under the saddle, and a conical adjusting member at each end of the pivoted pairs and carried by a horizontal piv- -otal shaft mountedon' theemptyingrtruckinposition for interposition between one arm of eachof` the pivoted pairs when they lie together beneath the saddle out of-engagement with the supporting surfaces on oppositesides ofthe saddle.

2. Slot bunker as claimed in claim l, and further characterized by the conical adjusting member lbeing regulable by means of a lever on the horizontal outer sides--of Vthe emptying.- truck.

3. Slot bunken` with a central saddle and material supporting surfaces on-oppositesides of it, a slotr'betweenf each/'supporting surface and the saddle,ran emptying truck movablelalongrthe saddlebelow the-same and havingV two pivotedpairs of emptying arms'carried by the emptying truck` inA position-for one armr ofeach pair of arms'to engage through the'slots in position over the material supporting surfaces on opposite sides of the saddle to removermaterial'therefrom to beneath the saddle while theother'arm of each Ypair ofarms lies under the saddle in'one direction ofl movement Yof the emptying truck along the saddle, and said other arm of each pair likewise engages'through the slots over said opposite side material supporting surfaces while said one arm of each pair lies under the saddle in the opposite direction of movement under the saddle, said arms of eachV pair being disposed in theV form of ani obtuse angle andthe two pairs being pivotally mounted one above the othercon Va common axis whereby the arms of the pairs are automatically reversedA in position Vby the material on the supporting surface on change in direction'of movement of the'emptying truck under' the saddle, and aY cable to produce the movement of the truck, said cable; being connected with the two opposite ends of the truck over two rollers arranged at Y each of said two ends thereof fand over a cable drum through upper and lower pairs of rollers rollersA at eachend of the truck.

4. Slot bunker as claimedin claim 3, and further characterized by one pair of Vupper and lower pairs of rollers being axially displaceable on a shaft for the pair.

References Cited in'the le of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS 476,247 Germany May 14, 1929 pivotal shaft at thev for each pair ofV 

